General Nuclear Medicine

What is Nuclear Medicine?

Nuclear medicine is used to identify and treat abnormal cells in the body in the beginning stages of a disease, long before symptoms arise. Early detection and diagnosis means early treatment, which can mean a better prognosis for the patient.

Nuclear medicine uses small amounts of radioactive material (radiotracers) and a nuclear imaging camera to look for cell abnormalities. It is extremely sensitive to changes in the function of a tissue, bone or organ. For this reason, it is an integral component in the management, prevention and treatment of many serious conditions, including cancer, kidney disease and heart disease.

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Locations

An on-call technologist and physician are available on weekdays, weekends and holidays.

Two Reasons Why Nuclear Medicine is Used

Unlike other types of imaging (e.g., X-rays), nuclear medicine diagnostic procedures can provide information about the function of nearly every human organ.

For even more detail, nuclear medicine scans can be superimposed with CT or MRI, a process known as PET/CT or SPECT/CT (SPECT scan).

Nuclear Medicine at UC San Diego Health System

UC San Diego is a leader in the field of advanced nuclear medicine diagnostics and treatments. As an academic health system, our range and quality of services makes us a preferred referral center for many other hospitals and specialty physicians.

Our nuclear medicine team performs a full spectrum of procedures including: